| Consider the following statements regarding lightning that results from the creation and separation of electric charge in cumulonimbus clouds. |
| 1. Lightning is the form visible electric discharge between rain clouds or between a rain cloud and the Earth. |
| 2. Thunder clouds are positively charged at the base and negatively charged at the top. Earth represents the negatively charged plate. |
| 3. When the electrical potential between two clouds or between a cloud and the Earth reaches a sufficiently high value, the air becomes ionised along a narrow path and a lightning flash results. |
| Which of the statements given above are correct? |
A) 1 and 2
B) 1 and 3
C) 2 and 3
D) All of these
Correct Answer: B
Solution :
[b] Lightning is a large spark produced by an abrupt discontinuous discharge of electricity though the air, resulting most often from the creation and separation of electric charge in cumulonimbus clouds. The thunder clouds are negatively charged at the base and positively charged at the top. The negative charge at the base of the cloud induces a positive charge on the Earth beneath it, which acts as the second plate of a huge capacitor. When the electrical potential between two clouds or between a cloud and the Earth reaches a sufficiently high value (about 10000 V per cm), the air becomes ionized along a narrow path and a lightning flash results.
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